Iron guard

ABSTRACT

An improved iron guard is provided which includes a spaced pair of holding means such as clamps to releasably engage the sides of an ironing board, a flexible connecting means interconnecting the holding means and adapted to releasably engage the handle of an iron, resilient means such as a spring associated with the connecting means and holding means to tension the former and to releasably secure a heel bracket in tight engagement with the heel of an iron to hold the same securely in an upright position without danger of tipping over the iron. The bracket is secured to the connecting means, which may be a chain, cord or the like. The bracket is of special configuration to quickly and adequately engage the heel of an iron.

United States Patent [191 McGrath IRON GUARD [76] Inventor: llgyrnondMcGrath, "/30 3 Win netka Avenue, cano ga l ark, can; 9 l 306 [22]Filed: Jan. 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 221,588

[ 51 May 1, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 313,528 5/1918 Germany..248/36l A Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney-John .1. Posta,Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT An improved iron guard is provided which includes a spacedpair of holding means such as clamps to releasably engage the sides ofan ironing board, a flexible connecting means interconnecting theholding means and adapted to releasably engage the handle of an iron,resilient means such as a spring associated with the connecting meansand holding means to tension the former and to releasably secure a heelbracket in tight engagement with the heel of an iron to hold the samesecurely in an upright position without danger of tipping over the iron.The bracket is secured to the connecting means, which may be a chain,cord or the like. The bracket is of special configuration to quickly andadequately engage the heel of an iron.

9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures IRON GUARD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l.Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to guardmeans and more particularly relates to iron guard means to preventmishaps with electric and similar types of clothes irons.

2. Description of Prior Art Existing types of guards for electric ironsand the like generally are either of complicated and expensiveconstruction or do not provide for positive locking of an iron in placeon an ironing board so that it cannot be tipped or dropped off theironing board, even when the latter is bumped. Moreover, most ironingboard iron guards orient the iron so that the irons ironing surfacefaces one of the sides of the ironing board. Thus, this exposes the hotsurface of the iron to anyone approaching the ironing board from theappropriate side. In those devices which incorporate a rest, the hotiron surface may be in contact with the rest surface so that the ironsurface may pick up unwanted and transferrable material, such as lint,dirt or the like, which can be transferred to the surface of the cloth,which is later ironed with the iron. Moreover, if the iron surface issufficiently hot when placed on the rest and if the iron is soonthereafter removed from the rest, the rest surface may have become andremain sufficiently hot to be a safety hazard. Such a hazard may easilyresult in a burn when ironing is resumed.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved type of simpleinexpensive ironing board iron guard which would be capable of assuringthat an iron left unattended could not be knocked off the board ortipped on the board (with consequent scorching of the ironing boardcover, etc.). Such a guard preferably should not in and of itselfprovide a safety hazard in use. Thus, it should be designed so that itdoes not become heated by the iron. Moreover, it should be easilyconnectable and disengageable and be adapted to fit a variety of ironingboards and irons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An improved ironing board iron guard having thepreviously described desirable features is obtained in accordance withthe present invention. In this regard, an improved iron guardsubstantially as described in the Abstract above is provided. The ironguard can be easily and quickly installed on an ironing board, takeslittle room and in no way interferes with the ironing process. Theimproved guard releasably locks the iron in place on the ironing boardwith the iron in the heel down" position so that the hot ironing surfaceof the iron does not contact the board. Nor does it contact the ironguard. Moreover, the iron is oriented on the board so that the hot ironsurface faces down the length of the ironing board and thus is notexposed to anyone approaching the ironing board from the side. Thisprovides an additional safety factor in the iron guard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective viewof a preferred embodiment of the ironing guard of the invention; and,

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the iron guard of FIG. 1 inplace on an ironing board.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in perspective view inFIGS. 1 and 2, an improved ironing board iron guard 10 is provided.Guard 10 in the embodiment includes a pair of ironing board holdingmeans in the form of clamps 12 and 14, an elongated flexible connectingmeans interconnecting the pair of holding means, resilient biasing meansfor biasing the holding means toward each other when the connectingmeans is under tension, and bracket means adapted to releasably lockover and hold the heel of an iron. The connecting means may be, forexample, a cord, chain or rope 16 or, alternatively, both a flexible andresilient cord or the like, for example of rubber, so as to serve bothas the connecting means and the biasing means. The bracket means isindicated in the drawings as heel bracket 18. The resilient biasingmeans is shown in the drawings in the form of a spring 20 disposedaround the shaft 22 of a bolt 24 passing through an aperture 26 in clamp12. On the opposite threaded end of bolt 24 is disposed a threadedfitting 28 secured to one end of chain 16.

Both clamp 12 and clamp 14 are generally U-shaped so as to providechannels therein. Thus, clamps 12 and 14 each include a long portion 30and a short portion 32 interconnected by a bottom transverse portion 34to provide a channel 36 therebetween. In clamp 12 bolt 24 extendsthrough the upper end of portion 30. In both clamp 12 and 14, wing nuts38 extend through apertures 40 in portion 32 thereof to provide positiveclamping action. The upper end of portion 30 of clamp 14 is providedwith a cutaway portion 42 extending from one edge of portion 30 thereofto about the centerline of portion 30.

The end of chain 16 adjacent clamp 14 is connected to a threaded fitting44 received over the threaded shank 46 of a bolt 48 having an enlargedhead 50. Shank 46 is disposed in portion 42 while head 50 is on theopposite side of portion 30 of calmp 14 from fitting 44, therebyreleasably securing chain 16 to clamp 14.

Heel bracket 18 is dimensioned and shaped to fit over the heel of aniron 52, as shown in FIG. 2, while the iron is disposed in the uprightposition on an ironing board 54 (also shown in FIG. 2). Thus, bracket 18may be of steel wire or the like and include an elongated iron-heelengaging portion 56, a pair of rearwardly extending arms 58 connected toopposite ends of portion 56 and a pair of connecting means engagingportions in the form of hooks 60 disposed adjacent the rearward ends ofarms 58. Bracket 16 may be in one piece, if desired, and may also beprovided with an integral outwardly extending tab 62, which can begripped with the fingers and which facilitates installing bracket 16over the heel of iron 52 as shown in FIG. 2.

Device 10 is easily installed in an iron-supporting position on ironingboard 54 by applying clamp 12 to the bottom edge of board 54 adjacentthe rear end thereof, utilizing wing nut 38, if necessary, to aid in theclamping procedure. Bolt 48 is disengaged from clamp 14 and passedthrough the handle of iron 52 and then inserted through slot 42 in clamp14. Bracket 16 is then 'secured around the heel of iron 52 by means oftab 62 after which clamp 14 is secured in place by slight downwardpressure to hook it to the opposite side of board 54. Spring 20 appliesenough biasing force on bracket 16 to hold iron 52 securely in placewhile still permitting the engagement of clamp 14 with the side of board54. Guard can easily be released by sliding bolt 48 through slot 42 inclamp 14 to release chain 16 and then passing chain 16 and bolt 48 backthrough the handle of iron 52. While guard 10 is in place, as shown inFIG. 2, iron 52 cannot be knocked over and its ironing surface safelyfaces down the length of ironing board 54 rather than toward one or theother side thereof. Accordingly, an improved, simple, inexpensive ironguard is provided.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An improved iron guard assembly, including, in combination:

a pair of spaced holding means adapted to releasably and adjustablyengage the sides of an ironing board;

attachment means for securing and maintaining an iron in a substantiallyfixed upright position with respect to the surface of said ironingboard,

said attachment means including an elongated flexible connecting meansinterconnecting said pair of holding means,

resilient means for biasing said pair of holding means against the sidesof an ironing board, and,

a heel bracket connected to said connecting means between said pair ofholding means and adapted to releasably engage the heel of an iron insaid substantially fixed upright position.

2. The improved iron guard of claim 1 wherein said heel bracket includesmeans releasably engaging said connecting means and wherein said holdingmeans includes means for adjusting the effective length of saidconnecting means.

3. The improved iron guard of claim 1 wherein said bracket includes:

an elongated iron heel-engaging portion,

a pair of rearwardly extending arms connected to opposite ends of saidelongated portion, and

a pair of connecting means-engaging portions disposed adjacent therearward ends of said arms.

4. The improved iron guard of claim 3 wherein said bracket comprises acontinuous wire and wherein said bracket includes an outwardly extendingtab portion connected to one of said arms to facilitate engagement of aniron heel with said bracket.

5. The improved iron guard of claim 4 wherein said connectingmeans-engaging portions of said bracket comprise a pair of hooks andwherein said bracket is fabricated of steel wire.

6. The improved iron guard of claim 1 wherein said resilient meanscomprises a spring interconnecting one of said holding means to saidconnecting means, wherein said connecting means comprises a chain andwherein said holding means each comprises an adjusta' ble clamp.

7. The improved iron guard of claim 6 wherein said bracket includes:

an elongated iron heel-engaging portion,

a pair of rearwardly extending arms connected to opposite ends of saidelongated portion, and

a pair of connecting means-engaging portions disposed adjacent therearward ends of said arms. 8. The improved IlOl'l guard of claim 7wherein each of said holding means includes a bolt secured to saidbracket and wherein said spring is disposed over one of said bolts andwherein each said bolt is secured at one end.thereof to said chain.

9. The improved iron guard of claim 8 wherein at least one of saidclamps includes a channeled portion and wherein a wing nut is disposedtransversely through said channeled portion to adjust the clampingfunction of said clamp.

* 1' l i i

1. An improved iron guard assembly, including, in combination: a pair ofspaced holding means adapted to releasably and adjustably engage thesides of an ironing board; attachment means for securing and maintainingan iron in a substantially fixed upright position with respect to thesurface of said ironing board, said attachment means including anelongated flexible connecting means interconnecting said pair of holdingmeans, resilient means for biasing said pair of holding means againstthe sides of an ironing board, and, a heel bracket connected to saidconnecting means between said pair of holding means and adapted toreleasably engage the heel of an iron in said substantially fixedupright position.
 2. The improved iron guard of claim 1 wherein saidheel bracket includes means releasably engaging said connecting meansand wherein said holding means includes means for adjusting theeffective length of said connecting means.
 3. The improved iron guard ofclaim 1 wherein said bracket includes: an elongated iron heel-engagingportion, a pair of rearwardly extending arms connected to opposite endsof said elongated portion, and a pair of connecting means-engagingportions disposed adjacent the rearward ends of said arms.
 4. Theimproved iron guard of claim 3 wherein said bracket comprises acontinuous wire and wherein said bracket includes an outwardly extendingtab portion connected to one of said arms to facilitate engagement of aniron heel with said bracket.
 5. The improved iron guard of claim 4wherein said connecting means-engaging portions of said bracket comprisea pair of hooks and wherein said bracket is fabricated of steel wire. 6.The improved iron guard of claim 1 wherein said resilient meanscomprises a spring interconnecting one of said holding means to saidconnecting means, wherein said connecting means comprises a chain andwherein said holding means each comprises an adjustable clamp.
 7. Theimproved iron guard of claim 6 wherein said bracket includes: anelongated iron heel-engaging portion, a pair of rearwardly extendingarms connected to opposite ends of said elongated portion, and a pair ofconnecting means-engaging portions disposed adjacent the rearward endsof said arms.
 8. The improved iron guard of claim 7 wherein each of saidholding means includes a bolt secured to said bracket and wherein saidspring is disposed over one of said bolts and wherein each said bolt issecured at one end thereof to said chain.
 9. The improved iron guard ofclaim 8 wherein at least one of said clamps includes a channeled portionand wherein a wing nut is disposed transversely through said channeledportion to adjust the clamping function of said clamp.